Grosset, `Gaia` Clare Valley 2014
Country: Australia Region: South Australia
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon and blends Vintage: 2014
Category: Red Wine Colour: Red
Producer: Grosset
"For over 36 years, the Grosset Springvale and Polish Hill Rieslings have shown a consistency of style and quality that has made this one of Australia's greatest wineries.
The 'hard rock' blue slate of the Polish Hill site results in wines that are steely and magnificently age-worthy, while the red loam of the Springvale vineyard gives more open and easily accessible – if no less complex – wines. Such is Jeffrey Grosset's attention to detail that he noted a small strip (22 metres wide by 300 metres long) in his Springvale vineyard that produced more generously flavoured wines due to a different soil. As a result, he decided to produce a different wine from this site, Alea, which adds to his great canon of Rieslings.
As the story of Alea illustrates, Jeffrey is fanatical about the quality of his vineyards, all of which are certified organic and are hand-tended. In the winery, each process is gentle and uncomplicated. No finings are used and sulphur is the only addition. By combining a disciplined approach and decades of experience, Grosset consistently achieves the purest expression of variety and place.
Fascinated by the art of blending, Jeff has trialled shiraz-based wines for years, resulting in the newly released Nereus. With just a small amount of Nero d'Avola, it has touch of perfume and freshness, with generous bramble and savoury overtones. It joins the Apiana - a blend of Fiano and Semillon - and his precise and pure Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc, with the latter variety sourced from his Adelaide Hills site, adding an aromatic dimension to the Clare Valley grown Semillon. His Gaia remains one of Australia's best Cabernet blends, while the Pinot Noir is scented, supple and alluring.
Jeffrey's keen interest in distilling led him to make Grosset45, a unique spirit made from distilled Riesling wine. No botanicals, flavours or colours were used, resulting in a pure, clean spirit which reflects the character and aromas of the variety."
Product Features: Vegan;Vegetarian
Winemaker: Jeff Grosset
Vineyards:
Planted at 570 metres, at the highest point of the Clare Valley, the vineyard is an elongated triangular wedge of emerald green that sits above the rolling golden cornfields of the Clare Valley.
Vinification:
The grapes were hand picked, crushed and de-stemmed, then fermented for eight days in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks. Gentle plunging of the cap took place to aid extraction of colour and tannin. The wine then passed into French oak barriques (45% new oak) and aged for 18 months. It was bottled without fining or filtering and aged for a further year in bottle before release.
Tasting Notes:
The 2011 Gaia provides a delicious example of what can be achieved in a cooler, more European season. Bursting with a fleshy immediacy, bright and ripe yet showing classic Grosset restraint, this is a satisfying drink. With lively brambly aromas, blackcurrant and black plum flavours, the wine is dense with refined power yet almost juicy. It has the structure and silky tannins to age as Gaias do. There's a touch of the plushness of the 2009 with a slightly leaner frame: so drink some bottles early for the youthful pleasure they will give and save some to savour the mature Gaia experience.
Food Suggestion: Serve with grilled game and red meat or very good beef burgers.
Closure:Stelvin ABV: 13.7% Acidity [g/l]: 7.5
